


Unlikely Entanglement

by Lyzzygyrl



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Billy Hargrove Redemption, Billy and Will both learn some things, Broken Hearts, M/M, New Beginnings, Unlikely heroes, Unrequited Love, Will Byers Needs a Hug, and more - Freeform, will Byers gets a hug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-15
Updated: 2019-05-15
Packaged: 2020-03-05 20:38:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18836353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lyzzygyrl/pseuds/Lyzzygyrl
Summary: What happens when a heart-broken Will Byers gets rescued by the most unlikely of heroes?





	1. Chance Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> So this a really short intro that I wrote ages ago and finally decided to publish. I love Billy Hargrove as a three-dimensional character and I don't think we see that enough; and despite the age difference, I think Billy/Will is a pairing that would help both characters develop in an interesting way.  
> Anyway, I hope you all like it! Let me know if this is something you'd be interested in seeing more of.

The sun was setting behind the pine trees along Mirkwood as a distraught Will made his way home from school. He didn't have his bike since his mom insisted that either her or Johnathon drive him everywhere. He was supposed to be waiting outside the school for Johnathon as he did every other day, but today he simply couldn't stay there a moment longer. He felt a surge of guilt rush through him as he knows his mother will likely have a heart attack when Johnathon arrives home with an empty passenger seat. He knows its selfish of him to put his family through that after the events of the past two years, but how is he expected to stay at the school and allow his heart to be slowly and excruciatingly ripped from his chest?  
After all, Mike had been so blatantly speaking of nothing except Eleven all day long. "Can you guys believe that Eleven closed the gate all by herself?" "Eleven is so strong and so beautiful." "Did I tell you guys the hilarious thing Eleven said the other day?" I mean it's bad enough that Mike spends every waking hour outside of school with her, but why does he have to waist the few precious hours Will has with him chatting his ear off about her? Will likes Eleven, he does. I mean, how could he not? She helped save him numerous times, and it's not her fault that Will was too preoccupied being sucked into alternate dimensions to realize his true feelings for Mike until now.  
The realization hit Will all at once during a particularly rowdy game of truth or dare the party was playing one Friday night. It had started with innocent little dares such as saying bloody Mary three times in the mirror or admitting your crushes from years past. But it quickly turned pg-13 with a suggestion from none other than Mad Max. Still a little antsy towards Mike for all the trouble he gave her in the beginning of their relationship; she enjoyed poking fun at him any chance she got.  
"I dare you to kiss Will…on the mouth." She added the last bit with a devilish grin. Mike sputtered for a moment and looked around at the other party members for some sort of back up. Will was already a bright shade of red and was trying desperately to calm his racing heart. "Go on, Mike." Max continued with a nudge of his shoulder in Wills direction.  
"You can't make me do that!" He insisted, and for a moment Will felt a part of himself wither away at the utter disgust in Mikes tone.  
"Fine, don't do it, but then you lose!" Max replied just as begrudged as Mike. He huffed in frustration as he glared at the red head. "I don't know what the big deal is, I would Kiss Will!" She added gleefully.  
"You would?!" Lucas and Dustin perked up in unison.  
"Of course, I would, Will's adorable!" To emphasize her point she poked the tip of Will's nose.  
"Well that's different!" Mike chimed in, "You're a girl!"  
"So?" She retorted.  
"So, you're supposed to kiss boys and I'm supposed to kiss girls!" Mike shouted as though it was the most obvious statement in the world. Will didn't know why, but he felt partly offended and partly ashamed by Mike's statement.  
"You Midwesterners are so backward!" Max laughed at Mike's conventionality. "People are people, who cares? And besides, I didn't dare you to date Will, it's just a kiss…" Max walked over to mike and slapped him on the shoulder. "…come on, Mike, pull that giant stick out of your ass and relax a little!" The rest of the party erupted in laughter at the look of shock on Mikes face.  
"God, Fine! Geez, I'll do it!" Mike turned toward Will who was still bright red. He wanted to chime in, himself. He was a little offended that no one bothered to ask him whether or not he wanted to kiss Mike. He liked teasing Mike as much as the rest of them and he wanted to poke fun and make Mike a little crazier, but he couldn't. When Mike turned to him with his dark soulful eyes and impossibly red lips, Will found himself speechless. Mike rubbed the back of his neck and gave Will a look that said, "Sorry man, they dared me!". In retrospect, Will is surprised that he wasn't more concerned that three sets of eyes were boring into him. But he couldn't bring himself to care about the others as Mike began to tilt his head to the right. Will found himself leaning in, completely against his will.  
For a moment, Will's world made sense, and then everything changed. He felt Mikes lips brush his own and he squeezed his eyes shut. Mike adjusted his position just a bit and the movement sent chills down Will's spine. Just as Will was about to return the kiss, Mike was pulling away to sound of cheering and cat calls from their friends. Mike stuck his tongue out at all of them before standing and taking a dramatic bow. Will tried desperately to move or say something, but he was frozen; time had stopped and everything he had ever known had changed impermeably and forever. It didn't take long for his friends to notice his strange behavior.  
"Are you ok, Will?" Mike asked as he placed his hand on Will's shoulder. It was a simple touch; one that would have comforted him in days past, but now caused a three-ring circus in his stomach. Will slowly turned his head and attempted a smile that would have convinced anyone he was a serial killer. He cleared his throat and opened his mouth, but no words came out. He had no idea what to say; was he okay? Definitely not…but why? Because his world was just turned upside down for the second time in his short lifetime? Only this time, he wasn't taken by a giant blood-thirsty monster from another dimension. No, this time he was simply hit with the sudden realization that his recent other-worldly possession was not the only thing that made him abnormal.  
Will cringes at the memory of sputtering out an incoherent response before excusing himself to the bathroom. He shudders when he thinks of how Max had eyed him knowingly when he emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later. Tears pull treacherously from his eyes as he remembers his flushed reflection in the mirror after realizing how in love he is with his best friend. Will angrily kicks at a few rocks along the side of the road and sighs dejectedly at the underwhelming inches they scatter apart.  
He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't hear the footsteps behind him.  
"Hey zombie boy!" Will flinches at the voice of none other than Troy the bully; no doubt with James at his heels. He keeps his head down and continues walking in hopes that they'll get bored and move on. "Hey, I'm talking to you, freak!" Troy adds as he grabs will by the collar of his hoodie and yanks him backwards. Will stumbles a few feet back before catching his foot on a rabbit hole and collapsing on the ground. Troy wastes no time rounding on Will like a lion on its prey. "Awe, what're you crying for, fairy boy?" only now does will touch his cheek to realize that he's been crying over Mike.  
"Leave me alone, Troy." Will tries to sound confident but the slight crack in his voice doesn't help things as pulls himself up on his elbows and attempts to stand up only to have Troy slam his foot into his gut. Will cries out before falling to ground and pulling his knees to his chest.  
"No one tells me what to do!" Troy sneers "especially you, byers!" he shouts with a swift kick to the side of Will's head. Suddenly, all Will can see is white and yellow specks in the dense fog that surrounds him. Distantly, he hears something loud and screechy followed by a slamming noise and bouts of yelling. Will tries to make sense of it, but the bile working its way up his throat interrupts his focus. A few minutes or a few hours pass before Will feels hands on him again. He instinctually flinches away but the grip on his arms only tightens as he's shaken slightly. He can hear someone talking to him, but the words are fuzzy.  
"Kid! Hey, kid wake up!" Will blinks a few times and a fuzzy outline of a man appears before him. He tries to lift his head which is when a furious pain shoots through his brain like lightning. Letting out a cry at the shock of the pain, Will lays his head back on the ground. "Damn, just hold up kid, I'm gonna get you some help."


	2. Introductions

As Will comes to, he is hit with the overwhelming scent of smoke wafting up his nose. His first thought is that his mother must be nearby, but that illusion is shattered when he smells an unfamiliar cologne mixed in with the smoke. Secondly, he realizes that he's in a car; a car he's never been in before. The seat he's slumped over in is deeper than the seats in his mother and brother's cars and the engine is louder too. It roars forcefully every few seconds as the car jerks in each direction, giving the impression of a windy road. Finally, he recognizes a familiar chord progression playing softly in the background. It's barely perceptible above the noise of the engine, but he'd know the Smiths anywhere after hearing them blare through Johnathon's door most of his life. It's at this point that Will makes his first attempt to open his eyes.  
He can see through his lashes that it's almost dark outside with the sun hanging low in the sky just above the hills. The car flies around a bend once again causing Wills head to pull away from where its resting on the window only to come crashing back against the solid surface when the car jerks in the other direction. A sharp pain erupts in his head and he sees red behind his eyes that he squeezes shut again with a groan.   
"Shit, Kid!" Will hears from a voice beside him. "Thank God you're awake." Will lifts his head and finds a set of terrified eyes staring back at him. He unintentionally glares at the face he doesn't recognize trying to figure out what's going on. Now Will is struck with a slew of horrible scenarios that could possibly explain why he's in a strange car with a strange man who is giving him a strange look. "Can you hear me?" The man, who looks oddly familiar snaps his fingers in Wills face a few times.  
"What are you doing?" Will finally speaks up as he shoves the hand away from him.  
"You scared the shit out of me, kid." The man wipes his forehead with his arm as he faces forward once again. "Thought I was gonna be takin' you to the morgue 'stead of the ER."   
This odd situation has Will too shaken up to process what's being said to him; his brain is still on step one. "Who are you?" Will asks while attempting to sit up.   
"You don't recognize me?" The man asks. "…Guess that's a good thing." He says more to himself than to Will. "I'm Billy…" He says. And then reluctantly adds "…Max's step-brother." Will nods his head remembering the times he's seen him before when he begrudgingly picks up Max from the arcade. Now he knows who he's with but that doesn't explain why he's alone in a car with a man he's never spoken a word to.   
"What's going on?" Will asks while rubbing the bump on his head. "What happened?"  
"You don't remember, huh?" Billy nods his head contemplatively. "Figures, they were going to town on you."   
"What?" Will asks, somehow even more confused. He tries desperately to pull at his memory from the last several hours, but the last thing he can recall is saying goodbye to his friends at school…School! Shit! "What time is it?" Will asks frenziedly, now more worried about how terrified his family must be than how he wound up with Max's brother.   
"I don't know kid, it's like five" Billy responds looking sideways at Will's sudden change in tone.  
"Shit! I have to get home!" Will yells "My mom is going to freak out!"  
"Relax kid, they'll call your mom from the hospital."   
That statement is a major blow to Will's already aching gut "What? No!" Will shouts attempting to unfasten his seatbelt; what he plans to do after it's undone isn't really clear. I mean he knows he's not going to make a jump for it, but it's his kneejerk reaction. Billy grabs his arm to stop his fretting.   
"What the hell, kid? Calm down!" Billy attempts to navigate the sharp turns with one hand while holding onto Will with the other.   
Will continues his ministrations while yelling too rapidly for Billy to totally understand what he's saying. "No! Let go! Pull over! Please!" are the few phrases he catches between what has turned into sobs. Slowly Billy pulls to the side of the road, never loosening his grip on the boy, just in case he tries to make a run for it. When the car comes to a full stop, Will grabs for the door handle just as Billy had suspected he would; struggling against his grip for a several moments while mumbling cries and pleads.   
"Let me know when you're done having a tantrum" is all Billy says while maintaining his effortless hold on Wills squirming arm that is now turning red from the friction. After a moment, Will's breathing evens out and he sits back in the seat using his free arm to wipe pitifully at his eyes before looking over at Billy in defeat as though he's awaiting a death sentence. "You want to try this again, kid?" Billy asks, loosening his grasp on Will while not completely letting go. Will drops his head with a nod so faint, Billy almost misses it. "If I let go, you promise you won't bolt off into the night?" He asks sarcastically. Will nods again, and Billy lets go of his arm.   
"Please don't take me to the hospital." Is all Will says in a voice so wrecked that Billy can't help placing his hand on the boys knee reassuringly. He isn't a touchy-feely guy by any means and he can't consciously point to an event that would cause him to become one, but there is something about this kid…Something that makes him want to protect him. It's a strange sensation for Billy and not a totally comfortable one, but he doesn't have to time to worry about that right now, not when he has a bleeding, hysterical kid in his car.   
He wants to be frustrated with him; to point out that he's bleeding from a cut on his forehead and that he probably has broken ribs, judging from how hard the kicks he witnessed were. But he can see the genuine fear on Wills face; it's an emotion he is all too familiar with, and he can't bring himself to berate the kid any further.   
"Why?" Billy asks in the softest voice he's able to muster.  
"I don't like hospitals."  
"No one likes hospitals."  
"Well I hate them." Will responds a little more forcefully than Billy was expecting. "Please, just let me go, I want to go home."   
"Kid-"   
"And my name isn't 'kid', it's Will" he finishes with what's left of his outburst. Billy rolls his eyes but changes his address all the same.  
"Fine, Will.." He starts while trying to remain calm. "…You're bleeding and you can't even stay upright, those guys gave it to you good-"  
"I've taken worse." Will interrupts in a miserable tone causing Billy to examine him more thoroughly than the situation had allowed him to earlier. The kid…Will…gave off a very different air than anybody Billy had ever been around before. He's small and naïve looking with a defensive and exhausted expression that Billy associates with getting beaten up a lot. It's obvious that Will has taken more than his fair share of abuse; after all, Billy has witnessed his fiery step-sister coming to the defense of her pack of wierdos before. But there is something else there too; something deeper, wiser, almost powerful about this kid. Billy swallows the words he had planned to say before.   
"Yeah, you have." Is all he says in a voice far too knowledgeable for Will's comfort. "But look, I bet your mom would want you to see a doctor…You could have internal bleeding."   
Will meets his eye line and they stare at each other for a moment. Just as the silence is reaching an uncomfortable place Will speaks up. "Why don't you take me home and you can ask her for yourself." Billy doesn't totally know what to say to this as he shifts uncomfortably under Will's heavy gaze.   
Will continues to look at the man on his left and study his features perhaps a little longer than is socially acceptable. He's never seen Billy this close up and he's surprised to see how gentle his features are; whether that's due to the proximity or the seminal lack of anger, Will doesn't know. He's an imposing person due to his size, but for some reason Will doesn't feel threatened by him, which logically he should, considering Billy's reputation for violence. Will's eyes wander from Billy's face down to his broad shoulders and the curve of his arm finally reaching his large hand which is currently seated on Wills knee. He knows the stories of pain caused by those hands, but it's a welcome pressure on his leg all the same. The thought makes Will blush, but he doesn't look away. Billy notices this and meets Wills gaze with an amused expression.   
"What are you lookin' at, kid?" He asks.   
Now maybe it's his aching head or his state of confusion and panic that causes his filter to malfunction; but either way Will speaks unabashedly. "Nothing, you just look weird."   
"Weird?" Billy laughs his question. He'd be offended but he's more curious than anything else.   
"Maybe not weird…just different." Will says as he rubs the side of his head assessing the bump on his temple. Billy can see that Will doesn't intend to offer any further explanation on the matter so he prods the boy for information.   
"Different, huh? Different than what?"   
"You usually look really pissed off when I see you." With that, Will lays back against the window in an attempt to calm the throbbing that refuses to dissipate in his head. Billy rubs his jaw in contemplation. The kid is probably right, there's still a sore spot where Max is concerned, and it doesn't exactly bring out his positive side, but for some reason, Billy finds himself upset that this is what Will knows of him.   
"Yeah, well..." Billy sighs, not in the mood to discuss his step-sister. "Max just pisses me off most of the time."   
"She's not exactly my favorite person right now either." Will responds remembering her dare and what it resulted in. Billy was not expecting to hear that from the boy sitting next to him and it was obvious from the expression on his face. Will knew that he shouldn't have said that, especially not to Billy. Despite not being there, Will had heard all about what Billy did to Lucas and Steve, making him enemy number three for the party; right after the shadow monster and Hawkins Lab. Talking to him at all, let alone about Max, would be treason in the highest order as far the rest of the party would be concerned. "I shouldn't have said that." Will says aloud this time, looking at Billy guiltily.   
As much as Billy wants to ask Will about his comment, he can see that the boy already regrets what he said. "Relax…" Billy begins with a wave of his hand "…I won't say anything, kid." Will glowers at being called kid again "…I mean Will" Billy finishes with a wink in Wills direction causing a deep shade or red to cover the boy's cheeks. Billy laughs at the reaction he's able to get out of the boy while hitting his blinker and pulling back out onto the road. "Alright, you win…Where's home?"


End file.
